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Who’s Next - Première Classe unveils new formats for a transitional edition
Frédéric Maus, the new CEO of WSN Développement, told FashionNetwork.com in July that the upcoming edition of the Who’s Next - Première Classe trade show will be “a transitional edition”. This time, the event will run from September 7 to 10 and will reveal hints of what is to come in January when the event will host an edition that will see all of the current development come to fruition.
While waiting for it to fully take shape in the eyes of fashion professionals, exhibitors, and visitors, changes are already being put into place with a new approach that intends to better cater to current consumption trends. For the upcoming spring/ summer 2019 collections presentation, Who’s Next - Première Classe will opt for a “concept store” format. Inspired by the approach of multi-brand businesses that have diversified their offerings, the event will highlight more categories of highly marketed products and a host of collectives and small brands that will add intrigue and diversity for boutiques.
The visit plan of the event, which has the theme “Africa Street”, has not been fundamentally changed in regards to big businesses but the “Fame” section in Hall 2.2 and the “Who’s Next” section in Hall 4 for ready-to-wear will host 600 brands while the 750 Première Classe accessories representatives will be located in Hall 3 and it is in this way that the event’s navigation will be enriched.
For the “Who’s Next” section, which is strongly focused on the women’s fashion market, will also include a small selection of urban brands and create a special space for young designers and notably, also a space for beachwear where around 30 up and coming brands will exhibit.
On the other side of the central isle of the Exhibition Park at the Porte de Versailles, on the Première Classe side, visitors will discover a “Villa Beauté” area which will comprise 20 exhibitors. Complimentary potential hit products will be on offer and the buyers and multi-brand retailers will also discover the “Mix & Mixte” section in Hall 3. Easily marketable products such as on-trend sneakers and backpacks that will catch the eye of consumers with clever concepts. Finally, another section will feature this season which is “Fine Jewellery”. This section will bring together fine jewellers as concept stores and affirm their high-end positioning without being inaccessible.
In total, around 1,300 brands will make up this season’s offer and offer inspiration to the event’s visitors. The upcoming event will be refined through the new direction conceptualised and put in place by WSN Développement with Emily Tepper Tarac in charge of ready-to-wear and Sylvie Pourrat in charge of accessories. The event’s objective is to better meet the demands of the market and to anticipate its evolution.
For the first time, Officiera will organise a new internal organisation at the trade show focused on “client success”. The organisation will re-design the relationships between the event’s participants, visitors, and exhibitors. The first step in the direction of simplifying their experience has been the creation of an app. Developed with a new partner, Swapcard, the app aims to help facilitate movement through the event, and comprise a tool to enable direct contact with exhibitors. The app is already available for download on the App Store and Google Play and it will be accompanied by a messaging service that will remain active after the event finishes on September 10 to facilitate the continuation of the fruitful networking that will hopefully take place with this edition.
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